CHAPTER VI.

OF THE CITY UNDER THE DANES.

The city being thus ruined, and the whole province subdued, the
body of their army departed in the spring, (fn. 1) but there staid a sufficient
number in this camp to defend it, and their new conquests, though
they met with no opposer in these parts, for Edwold, brother to King
Edmund, albeit the right of the kingdom belonged to him, thought it
would be to no purpose to endeavour for it, and so renouncing the
pleasures of this world, he withdrew, and became an hermit at the
abbey of Cerne in Dorsetshire. The army going to Surrey, took
Reding, but the third day after their coming thither, Ingmar and
Ubba, as they were taking preys in the adjacent country, were slain,
at a place called Engelfeld, (that is, as I take it, the field where the
English conquered,) so that they never returned hither again. (fn. 2)He
linshed (fol. 211) tells us, "after that the Danes hadde thus slam
that blissed man, they conquered the hole Countrey, and wasted it
so, that through their Tyranie, it remained without any Governour
by the Space of nine Yeares during all which time they kept
here, so as the city was still waste, for stow (fol. 64) says, that after
the death of Edmund, the East-Angles country was possessed by the
Danes, and had no king till 878, (fn. 3) when Alured, Alfred, or Elfred,
King of the West-Saxons, who had warred with the Danes continually,
since his coming to the throne, forced Gutrum, Gothram, or Gurmund, then King of the Danes, to sue for peace, (fn. 4) which was granted
him upon condition he should be baptized, and his dukes or principal
leaders with him, and the great army of the Danes should peaceably
quit the land, and return no more, (fn. 5) which covenants he performed,
being baptized with above 30 of his nobles, (fn. 6) at Wetmor near Winchester, King Elfred being his godfather, named him Athelstone, and
gave him in free gift the country of the East-Angles, upon which the
army quitted the land, (fn. 7) and in the next year, viz.

879, Athelstane, or Gutrum, and his Danes, came hither, and
settling here, divided the land among them, as the same Chronicle
tells us, and then mixing with the old inhabitants that were left,
whom they had used as slaves, they began to repair the destroyed
cities and places, for their own profit and safety; then again began
our city to revive, but in some measure changed her ancient site, her
new masters fixing on the north side of the river, near their encampment, which they looked upon as their great defence, in case of future attacks; and this was the original of the Norfolk part of this
town, which from that time hath continually increased, as the Suffolk part decreased, which is now reduced to one parish of about
thirty houses only. And from this time the Danes becoming Christians
all over Norfolk, and great part of Suffolk, began to divide the country among them, naming their shares, which now became so many
new villages, either after their own names, or that of their situations,
but calling the Saxon towns and villages after their old names; and
after some time, when Christianity was settled among them, they
began to found churches in many of their villages, as the many round
towers in this county, which are now standing, plainly demonstrate.
This Athelstane, (fn. 8) though he promised to hold his kingdom of Alfred,
and dwell there as his liegeman, kept not his promise, for he not
only governed in a tyrannical manner near twelve years, but during
that time, viz. in the year 885, (fn. 9) he and his Danes broke the peace he
had made with Alfred, by joining with those Danes that, contrary to
the agreement, then returned into England, (fn. 10) soon after which, Alfred
sent a navy out of Kent into East-England, and found the Danes,
who were about landing there to join Athelstane, (fn. 11) and took sixteen
of their ships, and drove them from that country, (fn. 12) and from this
time Athelstane or Gutrum never enjoyed his kingdom in peace, but
was harassed from place to place by King Alfred, to his death in 890, (fn. 13)
though the Danes continued here all the time, (fn. 14) but under the jurisdiction of

Alured, or Alfred, who, after Gutrum's death in the year 894,
obliged the East-Anglian Danes to swear fealty to him, and deliver
six hostages; but yet they immediately rebelled, and joined their
countrymen that were in Northumberland, and besieged Exeter, and
being repulsed, retreated home; but soon made another excursion, (fn. 15)
[when they had got their wives and children, ships and treasures,
lodged in East-England as a place of safety] and went from place to
place, doing what damage they could, till the next year, and then
they came home with what they had gotten, but could not rest idle,
being always making excursions during Alfred's reign; but that noble
prince kept them continually under, to his death, which happened,
according to the Saxon Chronicle, in 901. This great and virtuous
prince was the first, as historians tell us, (fn. 16) that divided England into
counties, or schires, and those into centuries, wapentakes, or hundreds,
and tithings, (fn. 17) and this he did, because the natives often robbed, under
colour of the Danes; for he obliged every man in the kingdom to be
ranked under some one or other hundred or tithing, and if any man
that was guilty fled before he had found surety, or after, all the inhabitants of that hundred or tithing where he dwelt were put to their
fine for his offence; and by this means he settled such peace in the
kingdom, that even in the cross ways in the most publick roads, golden
bracelets were hung up, which, as Malmesbury the historian assures
us, none durst venture to take away. At the division, this town was
divided, the river Ouse that runs through it being the partition between the counties; that part on the south side of the river, belonging to Lackford hundred in Suffolk, and that on the north side, to
Shropham hundred in Norfolk, as they now do. After this king's
death, his son,

Edward, sirnamed the Elder, began his reign, being then about
thirty years old, a prince whose valour had been often proved against
the raging Danes, and so fortunate in all his martial exploits, that
under his hands the Danes every where fell, and under his monarchy
all the English stooped, except the Northumbrians; in 901 he was
crowned and anointed at Kingston upon Thames, and immediately
after was obliged to follow the East-Anglian Danes, who sided with
Ethelwald, son of Ethelbert, uncle to this King Edward, whom they
had crowned King, and had carried with them through the countries
of the East-Saxons and Mercians, whence they returned hither, laden
with spoil and booty; but in their way, King Edward engaged with
them near St. Edmund's-Ditch, (fn. 18) where, though he lost the victory, he
gained great advantage, Ethelward aforesaid, and Cochric, (fn. 19) their
kings, being both slain in that battle, after which he followed his
enemies, (who retreated for want of a leader, to this city and camp,
as their great defence,) and spoiled all their lands, which they held
by composition and agreement under King Edward, from the river
Ouse to the border of St. Edmund's Land, (viz. all Suffolk, from
Devil's-Ditch to Thetford,) during which time he commanded all his
army, that none should tarry behind his host, for fear of the Danes
issuing out of their camp, and destroying them; (fn. 20) notwithstanding
which, the Kentishmen trusting to their own strength, disobeyed his
order, and the Danes waiting for their prey, issued out and slew most
of them; but in this conflict Athelwold, or Ethelwold, King Edward's
brother, who had joined the enemy, was happily slain. The next
year, the Danes made another inroad into Mercia, but King Edward
meeting their host, after a sharp battle conquered them, and forced
them to sue for peace, which he granted them, on condition they
should pay him a yearly tribute in money, and keep themselves within
the bounds of their East-Anglian jurisdiction; after which they returned hither, and continued some time under the government of
Ericke, a Dane, whom they had made king of this city, and the provinces of the East-Angles, all which were now, and for some time had
been, inhabited chiefly by Danes. This Ericke paying the tribute,
held his kingdom peaceably, according to the agreement made between him and the Danes, till the 12th year of King Edward's reign,
and then he went about to procure new war, and to allure other
Danes to join with him against the English, that by common agreement they might utterly subdue them: but Edward having all along
had the advantage over them, and being well informed of Erick's
design, prevented his purpose, by assembling a great army, and entering the country immediately, wasting and spoiling it as much
as he could; Ericke having his army ready, and being much
provoked at the spoil of his people, hastened with too much rashness
to encounter his enemies, and meeting them in the field, fiercely assailed them, to the utter loss of his army, and damage of his life, for
after his coming home, displeased with his great overthrow and sad
discomfiture, he began to govern his people with more sharpness and
severity than he did before, by which he raised the malice of the
East-Angles so much against him, that becoming odious to his own
subjects, they violently murdered him, but did not gain so much by it
as they expected, for being brought low and weakened by civil dissension, they became unable to defend their country, and so were
compelled to submit themselves to the English King Edward. And
this kingdom, with that of Mercia, was joined to his West-Saxon dominions, and this city got rid of its tyrannizing kings, and its Danish
inhabitants mixing with the remains of its ancient owners, made one
people, which submitted to the English government.